The Child Ambassador
by Crystal56
Summary: A child ambassador is being taken home by Enterprise, but is she really a child, and where is she from? Chapter 4 is up!
1. Default Chapter

"My mother was a wonderful woman, wasn't she Michiru?" I asked.  
"Of course, what told you otherwise?" she asked back, laughing slightly.  
"Will you sing for me again? Sing my mother's song," I said, and she picked me up into her lap and held me close. My godmother began to sing a song that had been sung by my mother eons ago. I never knew her. Nor would I, for she had died early on.  
"One day, I'll go up into those stars outside the portals, being Ambassador and all, and find true love and find all sorts of new things," I said. Michiru continued to sing, and I began to get drowsy. This song always put me to sleep.  
"And I'll destroy the evils, they won't be able to come back again when I get strong enough," I said, and yawned. Michiru finished singing, and laid her hand on my head.  
"Little one, you will do so many things, you just need to believe," she said, and I smiled, "All right, now its time for bed, so you'd better head out. If you want to head into space, you need a full nights rest."  
  
Disclaimer: I don't own anything but the plot, the original character, and maybe the different personalities, the new ones on old characters, just maybe.  
  
17 years later...  
  
"Okay, here's the deal, the Vulcans want us to take someone home. She's just a child, but she is the ambassador of a planet that's out a ways. So, we're going to take her home, and she's already written a note saying she'll behave and not cause trouble, and Hoshi has volunteered to share her room," Archer said.  
"A child aboard a starship isn't exactly protocol, sir," I said.  
"She'll be more than a match for you Malcolm, she is very clever," Archer replied.  
"Have you ever met her Captain?" I asked.  
"That's why we're going to these coordinates. The Vulcans have a ship that is holding her right now, and we're going to meet her and pick her up, should we decide to do this. T'Pol has said that it won't be hard, she met this Ambassador a while ago, and she thinks she is... 'Sweet'," The captain said, "Of course, which could mean numerous things."  
"Duh," Trip said, giving as small huff.  
"We could just go on and leave her behind," I suggested, but a sharp glance from the captain told me to shut up.  
"Come on, she's an alien ambassador and we just have to take her home. I know it'll be a while, but just get over it," Hoshi piped in, "Boys and their problems."  
"I resent that," I muttered.  
  
"Well, the Captain has agreed to meet you and give you a tour, should you like it and the crew doesn't mind, that will be your home," The captain of the Vulcan ship informed me.  
"Oh, goody, just 'cause you don't like me, you shove me off to some other place," I groaned, "Wonderful."  
"Well, if this helps, they have the latest weapons from the planet, and I have heard that there are books," he said, and looked down at me.  
"I don't read all too often," I said, "Will I make any friends?"  
"Perhaps, I don't know," he said.  
"But you act like you know everything," I said.  
"No, Vulcans don't 'act' like they know everything. They know most things," he said.  
"Whatever, I probably should go and pack," I said, and marched off.  
  
"Here we are, but I don't see anything," Captain said.  
"They're here sir, and they're hailing us," I replied.  
"Good, put them on screen," he said.  
"Greetings Captain Archer, I trust you made it here okay," the captain said.  
"Yes, it was easy enough. Will you be bringing her here to stay the night, so she can see if she wants to?" the captain asked.  
"Yes, of course, but don't tell me your crews consent until she has spent some time there. Out of personal experience, trust me, don't make that mistake."  
"Mistake? I'm a mistake?"  
"Please pardon that. That was her, and you'll meet her soon enough," he said.  
"You don't sound to reassuring," Archer said.  
"Oh, she's a real joy, I assure you, she just, learns too quickly," he replied. This was an interesting and a boring conversation at the same time.  
"We look forward to meeting her," Archer said.  
"We should bring her in about an hour. I look forward to bringing her," he replied, and shut off the transmission. This would be an interesting meeting, and I looked forward to meeting my prospective new roommate. 


	2. Hello, my name is

Disclaimer: I don't own anything except the plot... and the Ambassador  
  
Ambassador  
  
My godmother had always told me I was special. Every day, she told me I was someone who could do whatever they wanted and be happy. Even when I became cursed, she still loved me.  
"Michiru... will I ever be able to find true happiness?" I would ask her before bed each night.  
"I don't know, it mostly depends on you," she would reply.  
"Like I need to something?" I would then ask.  
"Forge your own path; find people who care about you for who you are. And when the time is right, then the curse will be broken as well. You won't be a child forever," she then whispered and began to sing a slow sad song. I missed her so much. I longed for home...  
  
Chapter 2: Hello, my name is... (Updated, I was just a little cheesy, but c'mon!)  
  
Captain Jonathan Archer  
  
"Welcome Ambassador, I am Captain John Archer of the Starship Enterprise," I greeted the small child in front of me. She didn't look to happy to be here.  
"Hi," she replied, and looked around slightly, then went back to looking at the ground.  
"There's no need to be afraid, we don't bite," I explained, kneeling down to her level. She smiled a bit at that.  
"I'll leave you to her," the Vulcan escort said, "We'll expect your decision tomorrow at 0900 hours."  
"That's fine," I replied, "Anything else I should know?"  
"She doesn't like special treatment, and she does love tricks," was the reply, and then the airlock shut, leaving the child with T'Pol and I.  
"Well, do you have a name?" I asked.  
"Umm... Katherine Anne Forest," she said.  
"That's a good name. Sounds pretty human though," I said, "Do you have a nickname?"  
"Nia," was the reply, sounded like a foreign name  
"Okay Nia, this is my science officer, Sub-Commander T'Pol," I said, playing along. I saw another smile. She was testing me in some way.  
"Call me... Kat," she said, suppressing a giggle.  
"Okay Kat, pleased to finally meet you. Well, are you hungry, or would you prefer to tour the ship first?" I asked.  
"Do... do you have an armory?" she asked tentatively.  
"Would you like to see that?" I asked, surprised that was the first thing she asked about, "Do you like weapons?"  
"I love to blow stuff up on my games!" she exclaimed, grinning from ear to ear.  
"Well, then, perhaps you'll love to meet our armory officer, Lieutenant Reed. You have a lot in common," I said, as I led her down the hallway, T'Pol following at the heels.  
"I wanna meet a Huintaka, and take a grenade, and shove it up their butt!" she said, and I found myself laughing.  
"Considering what you would have to do to get it up in the first place, it'd seem a waste of energy to try," T'Pol said, but I could tell she had no idea what Kat just said.  
"Yeah, but... it'd be fun! Sort of like all those doctor horror stories of the glove," she said.  
"Where do you get this information?" I asked.  
"I surf the web!" she said, and then giggled, "You mortal humans are really funny!"  
"We are? Well, I'm glad to know we still have that!" I joked along. She was priceless!  
"Here we are," T'Pol informed, and opened the door. I saw Malcolm a ways off, at the console in the back.  
"Ahem, Malcolm, I'd like you to meet Ambassador Katherine Anne Forest," I said, and Malcolm jumped out of being startled.  
"Oh, sir, sorry. What?" he asked, but Kat was already looking up at him, she was smiling broadly.  
"Hello," she said.  
"Um, yes, hello. Oh, are you the Ambassador?" Malcolm asked, setting down a datapad.  
"Yep! So, do you blow stuff up?" she asked. She was adorable, priceless, and very forward.  
"Only when there's no other choice," he replied.  
"Should I leave you to get acquainted?" I asked.  
"No, I have work," Malcolm replied quickly.  
"I can help!" Kat chimed in.  
"What can a child know about weaponry?" Malcolm asked, and Kat immediately rattled off half a dozen little known facts about torpedoes.  
"See?" she asked, and I glanced over at T'Pol, to see her reaction.  
"Very impressive, I think," Malcolm replied, staring down.  
"She studies a lot, I think," T'Pol said to me.  
"So, should I leave you two to get acquainted?" I repeated.  
"So long as she promises not to ask all sorts of mindless nonsense," Malcolm said, staring at Kat's beaming face.  
"I'll pick her up in an hour for dinner, sound good Kat?" I asked. She looked back at me.  
"Maybe you guys aren't so bad after all!" she said, and I smiled.  
"That was what we hoped you'd say," I replied, and then T'Pol and I exited out of the room.  
"She's quite the character, wouldn't you say?" I asked T'Pol as soon as we exited.  
"She is admirable, and she knows what she does well," she replied.  
"How did you figure that part out, she's only been here about 15 minutes," I said.  
"I had the chance to meet her once before, when she was negotiating some treaties with Vulcans and some other species. She knew exactly how to get what was best for everyone and I believe the meetings ended in about 2 Earth days," T'Pol explained.  
"She might be useful to have aboard then, wouldn't she?" I asked, half joking, half serious.  
"Yes Captain, she could very well be a better guest then some we've had," she replied. The way she said it however, let me know that she was very serious about her comment.  
"We better go inform Chef to make something special tonight, any ideas what Kat would like?" I asked.  
"I looked in her file; it says her favorite food is any type of pasta but no Alfredo sauce, only marinara," she replied simply.  
"Well then, let's see what Chef can do!" I said.  
  
Kat  
"Well, it looks like you do know just about all there is to know," Malcolm said.  
"Well, duh, you've only been questioning me for the past hour, and I still don't know squat about you," I complained.  
"And you won't for a while, because the Captain's here," he replied. I turned and saw Mr. Archer in the doorway.  
"You're a Muintaka," I said, and then walked to join up with Mr. Archer.  
"I beg your pardon?" Malcolm asked in a semi-surprised voice. I smiled and turned at him again, but before I could talk Mr. Archer spoke.  
"I trust Kat wasn't too much trouble," He said, clearly he was grinning because he heard me call Malcolm a name, and he didn't know what it meant, so it made my smile grander.  
"No trouble sir, she just has quite the mouth on her," Malcolm replied.  
"Do you want to come join us for dinner? She seems to have taken a liking to you," Mr. Archer replied, smiling.  
"Who else is coming?" Malcolm asked, hesitating.  
"It would just be you, me, Hoshi, and her," he replied.  
"No thanks sir, I'll be fine," Malcolm said.  
"PLEASE?" I asked, and ran up to him, looking at him with puppy dog eyes.  
"Why?" he asked, "You'd probably have a better time with Hoshi anyways."  
"I knew it; you're a stick in the mud!" I exclaimed, "You're scared of dinner!"  
"That's not it at all!" he fought back.  
"Wait, wait, I've heard that one before. I knew this one guy, who was scared of dinner, and then would eat a big lunch instead, so I think he may have gotten sick from overeating, and then he just snacked all day," I said.  
"And that has to do with this how?" he asked.  
"Just c'mon! Please?" I asked and used the puppy dog eyes on him again.  
"Alright, fine," he said.  
"Yeah!" I cried, "Score!" Malcolm looked at me funny, but that was okay, I was weird.  
  
Kat  
The dinner place was small, but cool. I had never been in one that was grey before. Well, I had, but not this shade. I finally got to meet Hoshi.  
"Konichiwa!" I said by way of greeting. She looked at me, startled, and wow, startling two people in one day, not my best work I'm afraid.  
"Hello, you must be the ambassador. I might be your roommate," she said.  
"Cool. Do you like sugar?" I asked, "How many languages do you speak? I speak over... let's see, 235, including Dragon, Phoenix, Fairy, Elf, Vulcan, Risen, and um, Earthen? What's up, how's it hanging, dude?" Hoshi laughed.  
"You're quite the character. And I see you've dragged Malcolm out of his armory," she said, laughing.  
"Is there a problem Ensign?" he asked.  
"Nope, not at all. I've known several techniques that children pull, was it the puppy dog eyes or the 'you must be afraid' tone of voice?" Hoshi asked, still laughing.  
"Both," he muttered. Just then, the Mr. Archer beckoned us to sit down.  
"Thanks. So, what're we eating?" I asked.  
"Pasta, I heard it was your favorite, and we wanted to make a good impression," he said, "Although it probably won't be what you're used to at home, I still hope we can interest you."  
"Yummy!!" I said. I sat between Hoshi and the captain. Malcolm still looked sulky and depressed.  
"Sounds good sir," Hoshi said.  
"Okay, I'll tell a joke. You look so sad Mr. Reed. Okay, why did the cat cross the road?" I asked.  
"I don't know, why?" he replied dully.  
"To go and eat the chicken! Okay, and now, why did the dog cross the road?" I asked.  
"Why?"  
"To go after the cat! C'mon, don't look so depressed!" I said, and he smiled weakly.  
"Okay, let me try this. How many storm troopers does it take to change a light bulb?"  
"I don't know, how many?" Malcolm asked, not even meeting my gaze.  
"Two, because one has to fix the bulb, and the other has to shoot him and take the credit," I said, and he smiled! Yeah, I did it, I got him to smile!  
"Okay, let's eat," Mr. Archer said, and I didn't even realize that food was in front of us. Maybe all I had to do was get him to smile, because Malcolm seemed fine for the rest of the evening. He was weird, but I liked him. I sighed; maybe I would like it here after all...  
  
Malcolm Reed  
  
She was just a child. It wasn't protocol to have a child on board. Besides, we've had bad luck with people who weren't on our original crew before, they either bring bad luck or end up causing us trouble. At times I can't complain though, some of it isn't that bad, but at other times it's terrible and I don't want any part of it. She was a cute child, I'll give her that. But other than that, I really didn't want her on this ship. 


	3. Dreams

Disclaimer: I own nothing but the plot and the character I created, the Ambassador. Please forgive me for taking some time to update.  
  
Chapter 3: Dreams.  
  
~Kat~  
I could see her, it was a darkened shadow, but I could tell it was her from all the stories I have heard.  
"Mama!" I cried out, running forward to try to grasp her outstretched hand. I ran and ran and she just went further away. I turned around, and saw my father's darkened shadow, he was leaving too. I didn't mind as much, he was evil from what I heard. I saw my brother. and I ran as fast as I could towards him. I caught him and embraced him.  
"Piers!" I cried into his chest. I looked up at him and saw the familiar blue hair and his blue eyes.  
"What's the matter little one?" he asked.  
"I miss you," I said.  
"You should know that I'll always be there," he said, "And as long as we still help one another."  
"But you're so far away," I said, "I miss you."  
"It's normal to miss someone you care about. All you need to do is find some family wherever you are," he said.  
"Where I am?" I asked, "I am on a spaceship! As an ambassador, I do travel."  
"Just what you dreamed about little one," he said, rocking me softly against him. He began to hum a tune in dragon tongue. I closed my eyes and relaxed against my big brother. He was so warm and I loved him a lot.  
"See?" he asked, "You'll do fine, all you need to do is find someone as a temporary like, brother figure, I just don't want you to replace me, okay?"  
  
"Yeah, I guess, I miss you still though," I said.  
"You'll be fine, goodbye for now. I'm sure you'll call again," he said, and stood up and began to back away.  
"Don't go yet!" I cried, reaching for him. I felt pain once again as I watched him slip into the darkness.  
"Piers!!! Please, don't go!" I cried. The blackness began to engulf me.  
  
~Kat~  
I sat up, sweaty and trembling. It wasn't a bad dream, no, just. I had to watch everyone go. I never knew my mother or father too well. They died when I was young, well, that's what I'm told, that I didn't even have any time to form any memories of them when they were around, which wasn't long.  
"Kat? Are you okay? Did you have a bad dream?" a voice asked. Oh, that's right, Hoshi is sharing a room with me tonight, because I might be staying as her roommate should I choose to stay here. I looked over at her; she was in some pajamas and reading by a small light in her bed. She must have recently gotten off of work.  
"Oh, I'm fine, I just had a dream about my brother," I explained. I felt I could trust her, she was nice.  
"You have a brother? Older or younger?" she asked.  
"Well, he's older than me," I said.  
"Well, if it was a bad dream, which I hope, it wasn't. Come on over here and let's talk. I have time," she said. I scooted out of bed, and she took me into her arms, sitting up on her bed.  
"I don't want to disturb your rest Miss Hoshi," I said.  
"Call me Hoshi and its no trouble at all. I could hear you crying when I came in," she said, "Do you miss your brother?"  
"Yep, he's my only family," I said, "I mean, I have godparents, but they aren't real family. Big brother is my best friend."  
"What's his name?" Hoshi asked.  
"His name is Piers," I said proudly.  
"Is he an ambassador like you?" she asked. I shook my head.  
"No, he's a water adept!" I explained.  
"Um, wow. What's 'water adept'?" she asked.  
"He can manipulate water and ice like me, and it comes from Mercury. I am different though, I am also a wind adept, and I draw my power from Jupiter too," I said.  
"So, that's why you can be here by yourself, you have special powers," Hoshi said with a relieved laugh. At least, I think she was relieved, for some reason. I smiled at her warmly, she was really sweet.  
"Thanks, but I'm still in training. You should see my brother though. He killed a lot of Huintakas!" I said, smiling at the thought.  
"Okay, what are Huintakas?" she asked, "You've already used the word once before if what the Captain told me is true, but that word is really unusual, and I'm a translator!"  
"Oh, sorry. Its dragon tongue for a type of monster that exists, and I think it has some sort of tendency to. I think. it's really ugly!" I explained. It was, and I wasn't about to forget the first time I met one. It was really horrid, and smelled bad. To my surprise, Hoshi was laughing.  
"I'm sorry, it's just, and you get so passionate about that sort of thing, don't you?" she said, and smiled at me, attempting to suppress a yawn. I snuggled closer.  
"You're warm," I said, changing the subject entirely.  
"Huh?" she asked.  
"I mean you're warm. Like a mom. I like you. I like you a lot," I said, and felt myself relax.  
"Well, I like you too," she said, "I wouldn't mind if you stayed."  
"Really? I think I'd like it here. There are lots of interesting people, and I know a lot, so I can help out too. I don't want to be a useless guest," I said.  
"Okay. But, promise me you'll teach me a language you know, maybe Dragon?" she asked.  
"Well, maybe. but it's really hard to learn. Maybe I'll teach you Elf!" I said, and yawned.  
"Sounds fine. We'd better get to sleep. oh," she said, realizing I had just fallen asleep in her arms.  
"Well, then I guess you can stay here with me," she said, and lay down with me in her arms, "Goodnight little one." That was what Piers always called me! I really felt at home. I felt like for now I had some family. 


	4. I'm gonna Stay!

Disclaimer: I don't own Enterprise  
  
A/N: I'm kinda getting a different idea and I kinda want to do a different story other than this one for a while, a different Enterprise story, but I'm not sure... I sort of haven't been inspired for this one in a while. I hope any reviewers who liked this story so far will check out my other one and tell me what they think, but I'll try to continue both as best as I can. (If you haven't noticed, I have numerous stories in the works... some pathetically a chapter or two away from being done...) Enjoy this short chapter; at least, I think its short...  
  
I'm Gonna Stay!  
  
Kat  
  
I woke up the next morning still in Hoshi's arms. She was warm, and still asleep. I sort of had to wiggle out of her grasp, being careful not to wake her and I showered and dressed in something comfortable for the day. I couldn't stand fancy clothes, at least not most of the time.  
"Kat, are you up already?" a sleepy voice asked me. I got up from where I was putting on some sandals and saw Hoshi's eyes meeting mine.  
"Yeah, I am. Listen, thanks for last night," I said. Hoshi smiled at me.  
"It was nothing; nightmares happen," she said, "It's nothing to be ashamed of."  
"But it wasn't really a nightmare... it was my brother... he was telling me to be strong... and such," I whispered, almost to myself, even though I knew that she could hear me.  
"Well, you should be strong, if what you said last night was true, with the dragon stuff and all," Hoshi said, sitting up.  
"Miss Hoshi, do you like me?" I asked, "I mean... would you mind sharing a room with me?"  
"Have you made your choice that soon?" Hoshi asked me. I shook my head.  
"I just wanted to know," I said quickly.  
"Well, I can actually say I'm enjoying the company. I wouldn't mind if I shared a room," she said, "I mean, with you."  
"That's cool," I said and ran up to her and hugged her around the waist, "Thank you Miss Hoshi. I think I should go see the captain now, right?"  
"Yes, you should," Hoshi said, "Well; don't make your decision until I arrive, because I need to hear it, as it will affect me mostly if you chose to stay. But head on out, I'll be there in a little bit." I nodded and ran out into the hall, and realized I had no idea where I was going to go! I cursed myself for having a bad sense of direction.  
"Is this some sort of traditional wear for you Ambassador?" a voice asked me. I looked around and saw Malcolm there to the left of me.  
"It's comfy. I like it, and if you don't, well I can't say I care!" I said, defending myself.  
"The captain ordered me to come and collect you is Ensign Hoshi up yet?" Malcolm asked me.  
"Just go on ahead, I'll catch up in a minute," Hoshi called from the room.  
"Very well then, come along Ambassador," he beckoned and I followed his lead.  
"Say Mr. Reed, do you like me?" I asked and he looked down at me as we walked towards an elevator.  
"Why do you ask?" he asked, opening the elevator door and stepping inside, and I followed quickly behind.  
"I like you!" I said, "You're a little stiff, but I like you!"  
"Well, thanks, I guess..." Malcolm said, not even looking at me, "You're annoying, very much annoying, but you're not as bad as some people I've met."  
"I'm gonna take that as a yes! Yippee! The people I wanted to like me most do! And I got them to like me in a few hours!" I sort of sang this out loud; I felt like I could sing right now. Reed looked down at me with a cocked eyebrow and I smiled up at him, giggling.  
"So... does this mean you are staying?" Malcolm asked.  
"Bliska takura temt," I said in dragon tongue, "That's my answer..."  
"And what did you say?" Malcolm asked.  
"..." I remained silent as the elevator came to a complete stop.  
"Fine, be that way... both you and Ensign Hoshi and all of the languages... it gets on my nerves..." Malcolm muttered as he led me down another hallway.  
"Ahh, there you are Miss Kat," the Vulcan captain greeted me. I bowed and smiled.  
"So, do you like it here?" Captain Archer asked me, coming up behind the Vulcan.  
"Well, yeah! Miss Hoshi likes me and so does Mr. Reed!" I exclaimed, and then I remembered to wait for Hoshi, "And this place is really nice and... and... and..."  
"And what?" Captain Archer asked me.  
"Wait, I'm here... I'm here!" Hoshi exclaimed, out of breath, coming down the hallway towards everyone else and me.  
"Well, did you decide to remain here or not? I can say it would be nice to have a new face on board here, even if you are just a child," Captain Archer said.  
"I'm not a child!" I said defensively.  
"Of course you're not, but have you made up your mind?" he asked. He was only humoring me! I wasn't a child! I sighed, fine, be that way, don't listen to me... well, I suppose it was better for them not to know... I mean, I didn't know how long I would be this way... I better make up my choice... it seemed like the right thing to do right now... I could figure the other stuff later!  
"Well Mr. Archer, I really like it here... so here's my choice!" I said and smiled up at him, looking him directly in the eyes, "I'm gonna stay, is that okay with you?" Captain Archer smiled, I felt like I had made the right choice.  
  
TBC  
  
A/N: Like it? Hate it? Too short? (Yeah, I know it was...) If you want me to continue, please tell me! 


	5. What's a military

Disclaimer: Like I would own enterprise... Which I don't by the way...  
  
A/N: Okay, I said I might give up on this one, but I'm gonna try one more chapter to see if I can't make it work, or else I'm gonna try something else entirely... (Which I hope Dyslexic Moaner will check out as well...)  
  
What's a military?  
  
(Kat)  
  
Today I was gonna spend the day with Malcolm in the armory. Oh, timeframe wise, it's about 2 days after I made my choice to remain here. Everyone seems to enjoy my company, especially Hoshi. She and I have a really good friendship started and I don't wanna ruin it yet. However, Malcolm still is being really mean... I mean, he really ignores me when he gets the chance. I really wanna make him smile, but I don't know how I'm gonna be able to do that. When Hoshi isn't on the bridge, I'm with her, but if she is, I'm with Malcolm, and if they both are, Trip doesn't mind me being in the engine room helping run errands. Yeah, an ambassador running errands, but I actually love to do it. Trip seems to enjoy my company more than Malcolm does.  
"So...where are you from?" I asked from the step I was sitting on.  
"What do you mean, where am I from? I'm from Earth!" Malcolm said, and he looked a little annoyed. I can tell, because his eyes are in the process of thinking something out and I just interrupted his thought; however, I found what he said very funny, so I couldn't stop myself from giggling, and he looked over at me with a very stern glare.  
"I know you're from Earth Mr. Reed, but which part? Doesn't Earth have different parts?" I asked.  
"Does where you're from have different parts?" he asked, "You do mean like continents and such, right?"  
"Yeah, we have those...but we have 13 worlds to live in should we chose to... well, some people do," I stated, thinking, "But it's still expanding. I think when I get home; the 14th world might have already formed..."  
"Where are you from?" he asked. I decided to get back at him.  
"I'm from wherever those coordinate states. You know, the ones the Vulcan captain gave to Mr. Archer," I said.  
"Very funny Miss Forest," he said, "And please do stop calling me Mister. You are making me sound old."  
"Okay Malcolm!" I said, and he glared at me again. I put my head in my hands and stared back. He sighed heavily and turned back to the computer.  
"I'm from Britain," he said, "It's a country that's in Europe." Yea, an answer, now... well... I didn't know what to do next. I've only been pestering him to know where he's from for about the past 2 days!  
"Do you have any family?" I asked, anticipating that it would take another full two days to receive an answer to that question, and another two after that to find out who's in his family.  
"Yes," he said. I think he's just given up trying to get me to bug off, so he's just dealing with me until I go spend time with Trip or Hoshi. In other words, he didn't like me as much as he said he did. I stood up and walked over to him.  
"So, you really don't like me then?" I asked.  
"It's not that!" he exclaimed, "It's just... I...well; I don't trust people, even an ambassador. We had one before and trouble followed." Aha! I should have pestered him about this first, why he seemed so annoyed with me and didn't want to be around me all the time.  
"Oh, is that it?" I asked with another giggle, "I get it now!"  
"What do you get?" he asked me.  
"You don't trust me because you've had bad experience, so you don't want to be around me because you think I'll be trouble," I said.  
"You're annoying, I don't think you are much trouble..." he said quickly.  
"I'm not gonna cry," I said firmly, and then fake sniffled, "I just...well..."  
"What?" he asked, as he turned away from me back to his work.  
"Never mind!" I said firmly, "I'm gonna go find Hoshi, she said she'd meet me for lunch." I would never get him to smile; at least, that was what I decided.  
"Actually, I feel like lunch too. I should make sure you find Hoshi," Mr. Reed said, coming up to the door with me.  
"Are you joining me for lunch?" I asked, "I thought you thought I was trouble."  
"..." Malcolm said nothing.  
"Well?" I pressed.  
"I've given up. I'll just... I don't know you seem to need a father figure and if you insist on hanging around me all the time I might as well be a father figure. I mean, you don't seem to want to stop bugging me, so I might try to make something of it," he muttered and I smiled up at him, an ear to ear grin. Malcolm looked down at me and I giggled.  
"Well, can I call you dad then?" I asked and he sighed.  
"NO!" he said, "I'm still not like that. Father figure, that was what I said, not an actual father!"  
"Okay Mr. Reed!" I said, still smiling.  
"And don't call me that either. I'm not that old, I already told you about that didn't I? Just call me Malcolm," he said exasperated. I smiled even wider.  
"Okay, Malcolm..." I began.  
"And no nicknames!" he said.  
"Aww!" I cried.  
"Hey, is Kat in here?" a familiar voice asked, interrupting our argument. It was Hoshi!  
"Miss Hoshi!" I exclaimed and ran up to her and hugged her as best as I could, "Guess what, Malcolm's from Britain!"  
"He told you that, eh?" Hoshi asked jokingly, looking at Malcolm, "Did he tell you anything else?"  
"Nope, well, he told me he had a family, but I don't know how big it is yet!" I said, "Which reminds me... Malcolm, over lunch, could you tell me what a military is?"  
"You don't know what a military is?" Malcolm and Hoshi asked in unison.  
"Probably not in the way I know it to be...well, c'mon, or lunch will get cold!" I said and grabbed both their hands. Well, I managed to surprise them... I wondered if their military was like the same thing from my planet.  
  
"Yum, this food tastes really good!" I exclaimed happily.  
"That's good to know. So Ambassador, you really want to know what a military is," Malcolm asked.  
"Yep, and if I can call you Malcolm, you can call me Kat," I said.  
"How come you don't call me Hoshi then, instead of Miss Hoshi?" Hoshi joked with me, knowing all to well that she appreciated the respect.  
"Well, that's because," I said.  
"Never mind, I don't need to know," she replied with a smile.  
"Well then Kat, a military is basically soldiers..." Malcolm began.  
"Are you a soldier then?" I asked.  
"Yes and my ranking is Lieutenant..." he explained.  
"So then does that mean you're high in command?" I asked.  
"I lead the security force upon Enterprise... but at home, I'd be head of a battalion or something like that," he said.  
"Did you want to be on this ship at first?" I asked.  
"What does that have to do with a military?" he asked.  
"I'm curious!" I defended.  
"Sort of..." he stated.  
"Sort of what?" I asked.  
"I didn't really want the job at first... I wasn't exactly sure it was for me. I come from a military family," he said, "I can only remember up to my grandfather, but I'm sure it went back past that..."  
"And a military family is..." I pressed.  
"That's when someone in your family from each generation has served in the army or the navy or the air force or even the coast guard... Is it possible I am forgetting any branch?" he asked, almost to himself.  
"I don't know, don't look at me..." Hoshi said and continued to eat.  
"That's okay, you can just tell me later if you do remember it," I said.  
"That's not the point, the point is that..." he began.  
"The point is you haven't even touched your food all that much and if you don't eat it soon I'm gonna take it from you!" I said with a giggle, "It's alright Malcolm... I don't need to know that..."  
"But you were asking..." he defended.  
"I know and I think I have all my answers now so it's alright!" I said, "I really think it's kinda like mine back home, just mine uses magic in battle, among other things."  
"Really?" Hoshi asked, intrigued now.  
"Yea, I mean, we use weapons and such, but not like the phase pistols you people use... I mean like we use swords, bows and arrows...staffs..." I tried to list off as many of the weapons as I could.  
"They sound very primitive," Malcolm said and I only smiled at him.  
"Some are ordinary, but some are infused with magical abilities making them much more powerful, even better than the weapons you have!" I exclaimed brightly.  
"Highly unlikely," Malcolm said, but I continued to smile at him anyways, "What do you have to be so happy about?"  
"Beg pardon?" I asked, drinking from my hot cocoa.  
"Why are you smiling all the time?" he asked.  
"Well, you don't seem to smile often... so, why don't you smile?" I shot back at him.  
"I don't wish to smile, I don't have to," he said.  
"Then why is it weird that I smile?" I asked.  
"Because you do it all the time!" he exclaimed. I giggled a little bit and looked up into his eyes. He had really nice eyes. I sighed and smiled again.  
"Well, that's because I have friends, isn't that something to be happy about?" I said, hoping that would be a decent explanation for him.  
"I don't get women and this is one of the reasons," he muttered and poked at his food.  
"You know, smiling is healthy," I said.  
"So is laughing," Hoshi pointed out.  
"Yeah, well, I do that a lot too!" I said and poked Malcolm in the shoulder.  
"What was that for?" he asked with annoyance in his voice.  
"Because, poking people is fun. The next best thing is tickling... Are you ticklish?" I asked.  
"I don't think so. Malcolm laughs so rarely it's hard to think he's ticklish," Hoshi said, looking thoughtful. Malcolm didn't look up from his food.  
"Even if I was, I wouldn't tell you," he said, "This is a pointless conversation, we have moved completely off the original topic!"  
"Friends do that all the time and it doesn't matter!" I said, "I have friends at home and we never stay on topic for to long unless it's very important!"  
"Whoever said we were friends?" Malcolm asked impatiently.  
"I did. We're friends, I mean it, well, more like kinda friends, and you still don't like me much..." I trailed.  
"..." Malcolm kept his mouth shut and didn't even look at me.  
"Is there a problem sir?" Hoshi asked, letting a smile shine through on her face.  
"No, there is not! Good day!" he said and picked up his tray and went somewhere else.  
"What did I do wrong?" I asked Hoshi and she shrugged at me.  
"I don't know. You shouldn't let it bother you, he's like that to a lot of people," she said, and I found myself smiling again.  
"I'm gonna make it my goal before I return home," I said definitely.  
"What goal?" she asked.  
"I'm gonna get Malcolm to smile!" I said and giggled, a smile upon my face once again, "I mean, I think I can do it, I just gotta think real hard about how to do it!"  
"Good luck," Hoshi said, "You've got quite the job ahead of you."  
"I know," I said, "And that is gonna be lots of fun to do!"  
  
TBC (?)  
  
A/N: And that's a really long chapter for me. I can't believe I wrote that much.  
Like it? Hate it? Tell me how to improve if it needs it, if this chapter was better than the others and please, only constructive criticism. If anyone wants to beta this, tell me, I probably could use one.  
  
By the by, if you sincerely must flame me, please keep it rated G-PG... I'm gonna go and play Pokemon Coliseum now if you don't mind, and if you do, I don't care, so bye! 


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